


game on!

by sarangway



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: CEO Eunwoo AU, Fluff, M/M, because the new fansign photos KILLED ME, director and bff jinjin, intern moonbin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-01 07:09:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12699912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarangway/pseuds/sarangway
Summary: ceo lee dongmin quickly took a liking to intern moon bin, and their company seems to benefit from it.





	1. Chapter 1

                It’s not every day that you get this kind of opportunity, Bin had realized. Working at one of the biggest gaming firms in the industry – even as an intern for now – was an incredible opportunity. His studies had paid off apparently, and as his mother kissed his cheek and his dad patted his back that morning he realized that maybe it was also a very big stroke of luck. He didn’t mind, and neither would he complain, because he would just take this and run with it.

                The nine to five job seemed so daunting when he was eighteen, but now he was twenty two and could barely hold in his excitement as the large building casted a shadow over him. The glass outer frame was sleek and sophisticated, as was the interior design once Bin entered. He palmed his ID for a moment before scanning it, the green light and soft bell lighting his heart up. The stairs up to the secretary’s desk was getting closer with each step and his heart was already racing before he could get the words out.

                He was lucky that the secretary recognized the nervousness and pulled out a pre-marked map of the building with all the important rooms he would need, including his own office space highlighted. He was thankful for that, especially since he had already felt his anxiety heighten at the sheer _number_ of floors in the building. He made his way into the elevator smoothly enough…that was until the door was stopped by a hand and he had to quickly press the button to open it up. A man stepped in and smiled, giving a quick thank you and reaching over to press the floor button, but stopping when realizing they needed to go to the same place anyway.

                “Ah…good.” The man glanced at Bin’s ID and Bin felt his back straighten up. “You’re new here, right? Bin…Moon Bin?”

                “Yes! I’m an intern here, staring today.”

                “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Lee Dongmin.” A hand was put out and Bin took it carefully, finally giving him a moment to take the man in fully. He had on a white dress shirt tucked into black slacks, a navy tie, and chic glasses resting on his nose. His hair was parted down the middle and Bin could have sworn his eyes were made of stardust because they had a certain sparkle that couldn’t just be from lighting. “Such a strong grip, Mr. Moon.”

                He loosened the handshake and drew his hand back with an embarrassed laugh, the doors opening and Dongmin gesturing for him to go in. A step in and the atmosphere was already changed from the entrance, people running around frantically and papers flying by faster than Bin could read them. Dongmin, however, looked so at peace Bin wondered if he was a robot. He also quickly wondered what position he was in for everyone to give him such quick ninety-degree bows as he walked down the hall, but he supposed by how fast they were walking he didn’t have time to ask.

                Bin looked down as his map and around at the room names as he walked down, finally seeing the number twenty-seven and slowing down a bit. Dongmin noticed and slowed too, peering into the room and saying good morning. Everyone turned and bowed again (what _was_ that about, Bin wondered) and he turned to smile at Bin before walking off. He’d find out more about the mysterious man later, he supposed.

                “Moon Bin, is it? Come here, I’ll show you to your desk.” A man that was significantly shorter than him with blonde hair tousled, round specs, and rolled up sleeves grinned at him, a lopsided smile lifting some weights off of his shoulders. “You can bring in little knick-knacks and whatever to personalize your desk, but truth be told we aren’t often sitting around here.”

                A gesture towards a large table in the center of the room showed papers scattered around and a few people talking as they circled things in red and drew lines around. “We generally do things there, but you don’t have to worry too much. You’ll mostly be running papers and easy jobs like that. But!” He wagged a finger after logging him in and jotting his password down on a sticky note. “Don’t get comfortable with that, because you’ll become part of the team a lot quicker than you might expect.”

                Bin just nodded, another soft grin and pat on the back making him smile back. “We have a meeting at one pm today, so just relax until then, alright?”

                “Oh, um, and what’s your name?”

                “Jinwoo! Park Jinwoo. You’re gonna do great, kiddo.”

***

                Bin tried his best to listen to Mr. Park and relax, but the excitement only allowed him to sit in his seat for exactly eleven minutes before he jumped up to explore. He knew he most likely only had this chance to look around before his work began so he started with the nearest coffee room and decided to go from there. Maybe it was obvious that the room would be equipped with not one, not two, but _three_ espresso machines. Not to mention the two other regular coffee machines with cups already letting it run, and the plate of Starbucks pastries. Breakfast wouldn’t have to be skipped anymore, noted.

                The next few rooms were the “prototype museums” as they were called, where things such as original sketches and figurines of characters from successful games were put on display. Of course, Bin already knew all of the backstory, he was more into ASTRO games than anyone else at his school and was entirely loyal to brand. There was just something so captivating about the stories that were woven here that he couldn’t find the same satisfaction anywhere else.

                Bin made his way around the thirty-third floor now, where all the designers stayed, and peered into different rooms with nothing but awe and admiration. Maybe one day he could find himself at this floor too.

                Before he knew it, it was already eleven am and he made his way back to his desk silently, trying his best not to disturb Jinwoo and the others. After about fifteen minutes, Jinwoo called a break for lunch and gestured for Bin to come with him. He got up quickly and followed behind him like a duckling.

                “How are you liking it so far?”

                “It’s huge. There are really so many rooms, it seems easy to get lost…”

                “Well, that’s what the help robots are for.” Jinwoo waited until Bin’s mouth fell agape to laugh and shake his head. “It’s a joke, Bin.”

                They made their way down to the first floor again for the company’s cafeteria, Bin taking the same lunch combo as Jinwoo and walking with him to a table that he found one familiar face at, the Lee Dongmin from before. Jinwoo sat down and patted the seat next to him, directly across from Dongmin, and Bin sat down hesitantly.

                “Min, babe, how’s it going?” Dongmin gave Jinwoo a warm smile and shrugged a bit.

                “Hello, Mr. Moon.”

                “Oh, have you two already been introduced?” Jinwoo gasped and gave Bin a thumbs up. “Meeting the CEO of the company on the first day, you’re making an impression, Mr. Moon!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> i  
> love  
> eunwoo  
> also i haven't been able to write this fast and with this much inspiration in SO LONG. thank you kings astro for saving my whole life  
> hit me (up) @[chanight](http://chanight.tumblr.com)


	2. Chapter 2

Bin wasn’t expecting to have met the CEO so soon, and he definitely wasn’t expecting it to be Dongmin, but he supposed all of the bowing made sense now. Immediately he stood up and started bowing to him and apologizing, but Dongmin shook his head and said that it was alright. Still, this wasn’t the foot he wanted to start on.

The meeting was near after they finished lunch and they all made their way upstairs to the meeting floor (yes, they did have an entire floor dedicated to meeting rooms), and filed in carefully. The room was huge and almost all of the seats were full, most likely since this was a companywide meeting. A new game was getting a weekly checkup on progress since they were projected to finish it within three months. It was coming towards just correction times now, finishing things such as ad campaigns and beginning the testing processes.

Bin had sat in the front row now, and listened as Dongmin gave a quick and concise talk about the needed articles for a few magazines and online new sources that would be needed for the next week, and how he’d be out for an interview the following Friday. After Dongmin, he watched as Jinwoo stood up and started giving a presentation. Of course, knowing Bin’s luck, Jinwoo was actually the director of design, meaning only one step under Dongmin. He wasn’t sure how he managed to meet so many high-up people but in a way, it was a good thing.

The meeting was smooth, Bin quickly being caught up on the game concept, how much longer was left until release, and just how stressed everyone was with the due date. It wasn’t that they were behind by any means, there was just always such pressure to make sure everything was in perfect order. Once it was time to wrap everything up, Jinwoo gestured at Bin to come up to the front of the room. He was shocked and pointed at himself while mouthing “me?” to be sure, and Jinwoo nodded with a quick lopsided grin. Bin stood up nervously, standing next to him (dwarfing while he did so).

“This is our new intern, Moon Bin. He’ll be helping me in the design team mostly, but we’ll see what he excels in the most!” Jinwoo gave him a hard pat on the back and grinned wider. “Make sure to be nice to him, alright?”

A low mumble of yes didn’t reassure anything for Bin, but after a bit of a push he returned to his seat with his cheeks burning. Knowing how many people were in the interview with him and to see he was the only one accepted made him feel even more lucky. On the other hand, it scared him.

Everyone began filing out after a few ending remarks from Dongmin, and he walked over with his hands tucked into his pockets. “Mr. Moon, come with me to my office and I’ll get you situated for what you’ll have to do the next few weeks.”

Bin stood quickly and nodded, following behind Dongmin like a puppy. A quick turn back showed Jinwoo giving him a thumbs up and laughing a little, which made him turn back around and take a few steps closer. The walk to his office was a long one, of course the penthouse belonging to Dongmin. It was a gorgeous view when they finally arrived, a view over Seoul that would be found nowhere else. It was a cleanly decorated office, too: carpeted floors, a glass desk, black and white furniture and large, draping curtains that were pulled back from the wall-sized windows. It was _chic_ , not unlike Dongmin himself.

"Ah, go ahead and take a seat on the couch, let me grab your files." Bin nodded and sat on the couch carefully, sinking in and letting out a silent sigh. "How are you liking it around here so far, Mr. Moon?"

"You can call me Bin if you'd like!" He rubbed his neck and smiled. "It's really lovely, I've always dreamed of working here."

Dongmin returned the smile and sat down across from him, setting the pristine file on top of the glass table and flipping through a few papers. He pulled out some to be signed and handed Bin the pen, letting him have some time to read before pulling out his application from a month prior. He read through it for a minute and smiled. There was a pause and Dongmin cleared his throat.

"I..." Bin watched as his cheeks burned up and he cleared his throat again. "I apologize, Mr. Moon. I seem to have forgotten why I called you in here."

Bin blinked a few times, surely this was a joke. However, Dongmin sat there blankly with an embarrased expression that read it was indeed real. "Oh, um...that's alright! Should I leave and come back when you remember..?"

"No, no, no, it's alright, I'll remember, just give me a moment-"

More awkward silence, let by making eye contact and having to look away with a shy but still uncomfortable smile. Bin wasn't sure if this was some sort of test, but if so he wasn't going to get that good of a grade.

"Ahem. Well, maybe not. I think it might be best if you come back later then. I'll email you."

Bin got up quickly and bowed, giving his thanks and closing the door behind him. He couldn't help but linger a moment and overhear Dongmin's hurried phonecall with Jinwoo starting with 'you will not believe what a giant idiot I am'.

***

Bin tried to finish the day strong, organizing his desktop cleanly and logging into the different programs he would need for later. He was even productive enough to try and create a daily schedule and set some alarms, though Jinwoo quickly debunked this and said there was no way in hell Bin would have the same kind of day more than once.

He felt himself be a lot more comfortable than when he came earlier that day. He had even striked up a conversation with a few of his coworkers, and he felt the end of the day approach a lot faster than he had anticipated. The next time Jinwoo tapped him on his shoulder was with a jacket and a startled look.

"Moon, you've stayed here an extra thirty minutes, are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have gotten distracted."

"It's no problem! You wanna go out to eat? I think Dongmin would like that." A knowing grin left Bin a bit hesitant but he nodded anyways, gathering his bag and following Jinwoo out of the building. When Dongmin, standing on the patio outside, turned around and met Bin's eyes, his cheeks burst into a blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO. did any of you watch asc? if so, there's a special surprise (its me, i'm the surprise)  
> i was on asc yesterday!! i got to hangout with astro :') really i never expected this to happen when i started stanning them, and now I've seen them three times ;-;   
> i hope all of u get to meet them one day!!!!!  
> hit me (up) @[chanight](chanight.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

                Bin thought it was only movies that offices were this chaotic, it seemed like the papers were flying on their own. He was sure his studies didn’t prepare him for such deadlines, but luckily for him Jinwoo was a great mentor. Making his way around the office was difficult, narrowly missing being hit in the face by frantic employees. It was only half-way through the day by now, a soft rain hitting the windows outside and distracting him as he poured coffee. Before he looked down, he felt a hot splash hit his arm.

                “Are you alright?” He turned around quickly and met eyes with Dongmin, a concerned expression resting on his features. “Good morning, Bin.”

                Bin quickly wiped the coffee off of his arm and smiled at him. He had to admit, it felt a bit awkward to be around Dongmin after hanging out with him recently (even if maybe it didn’t mean they were one-on-one since Jinwoo was there). “Hello, Mr. Lee.”

                Dongmin came closer and glanced over his arm, the proximity making Bin a bit nervous. “I hear you’re doing good work. I apologize that you came in at such a busy time.” A soft noise as sugar cubes fell into Bin’s coffee. “I promise that after this is launched it’ll be a lot easier.”

                “It’s okay, I’m managing all right I think.” Bin took a sip and looked out the window again, his thoughts interrupted once more as he heard a light gasp from the doorway. He turned around a lot slower this time, in fear of spilling it on himself again, and watched as Jinwoo walked in and raised his eyebrows at Dongmin. Before Bin could let out a hello, Dongmin hurriedly waved and made his way out of the room, leaving Jinwoo and Bin alone.

                “Well, he’s a weirdo. I just wanted to check where you were. Make me a cup and bring it back with you, hm?” Jinwoo grinned the signature lopsided smile that Bin had grown familiar with and skipped out of the room.

***

                After lunch had finished and another meeting had proceeded, Bin found himself slumped over his desk with a headache. So many new terms had been thrown at him in the first few weeks of working there, and he was sure he was going to drown before catching up. He had some organizing to do, emails to send out to potential advertisers, and letters to mail – but these were only specks on a long list.

                He was still trying his best with the echo of Dongmin’s ‘good work’ in the back of his mind. If he got approval from the CEO, he was sure that this meant he was proving himself and on the road to being a full-time employee. His energy pooled to pull himself back up, opening his email and beginning his work steadily.

                A few tasks in and a co-worker had set an energy drink on his desk with a small note reading ‘you’ll need this’. What did that mean? He was getting off at five and it was only three in the afternoon now. He would have time to take a nap when he got home anyway, and drinking something like this wouldn’t help. He appreciated the gift but left it untouched, watching the clock with a close eye and tired fingers.

                Once it read five, Bin smiled to himself and began putting on his jacket, the tabs on his computer still open but his mind already checked out. He stretched and looked around the office, noticing quite a few missing people already. Maybe they had left early, Bin thought to himself as he grabbed his bag and began closing tabs and saving progress. Just before he had finished and logged out, Jinwoo walked in and came up behind him. “Are you cold?”

                He jumped, started at the man’s sudden words. “E-excuse me?”

                “You were putting on your jacket, so I was wondering if you were cold. Should I turn up the heater?”

                “Er…well, no, but it’s cold outside so…”

                Jinwoo blinked, clearly missing something in their exchange. “Outside? Did Dongmin send you on a food run or something?”

                “Are we not getting off work right now?” Bin heard a chuckle before the sentence was even finished, and Jinwoo gave him a firm pat on the back.

                “You can go run for some fried chicken for Dongmin, but we’re having an all-nighter, silly goose.”

***

                Bin swung his bag with a heavy heart, making his way down the street to the chicken place with a frown. He was sure that he hadn’t been told it was an all-nighter, but perhaps he was mistaken if Jinwoo said he had sent out an email. Knowing him, deleting one spam led to another, and he found himself without knowledge that he was actually staying at the office for the rest of the night. His phone buzzed as his mother told him what was for dinner, asking if he was on the way home already. The photo of dinner made his stomach growl. As much as Bin had hyped up the idea of working at ASTRO games, he had a feeling that it was going to prove a lot more difficult than he had expected.

                The chicken place was rather crowded for dinnertime, and the menu was too large for Bin to be able to guess what Dongmin wanted. He supposed it was a good thing that he had his number for emergencies, but decided calling would be a bit too forward. However, when he checked his phone, he had already found a text from Dongmin reading out his order and to let the cashier know to put it on his tab, as well as for Bin to get what he liked. A large order of ‘sleep’ would be lovely.

                He regretted doubting his coworker’s energy drink now, and he would be sure to share the fries and chicken he had ordered for himself with whoever had left it. The walk back to the office seemed a lot shorter but he had to admit he dreaded each step. Making his way to the highest floor made his arms tired already, but his back was straightened as he entered Dongmin’s room. He hadn’t realized a good two hours had passed already, and the sun outside had already set a while ago.

                “Hello? Mr. Lee?” He could see a head behind Dongmin’s computer but heard no clicking or keyboard noises. Inching closer, the food was set on his table and Bin cleared his throat. Once he was closer to the computer he noticed Dongmin had already fallen asleep, his chin leaning on his head and his chest rising and falling slowly. Bin had a feeling that this wasn’t his first all-nighter of the week. He couldn’t help a soft chuckle sleeping out, gently taking the jacket off of the back of Dongmin’s chair and placing it on his back. Just as he turned around, he felt a hand grab his, causing him to look back again and meet Dongmin’s eyes.

***

                “I apologize for being asleep when you came in.” The food had been opened between them now, a bottle of soju and shot glasses neatly in the middle. Dongmin looked nervous, Bin wasn’t sure why but he assumed it had something to do with the sleepy mumbling he had done minutes before. Bin maintained his cheery demeanor nonetheless, and he ate his food happily. Somehow he had regained some of his energy (enough to brush down the fly-aways on Dongmin’s hair anyway) and the food tasted a lot better shared.

                “It’s alright, Mr. Lee. I’m sure you’re tired with the launch coming and all.” Bin wiped his mouth and smiled shyly. “It made me feel bad about my complaining, since you were clearly restless alone.”

                “You can call me Dongmin.” He said it hastily. “Thank you for grabbing the food for me. Don’t feel bad about being tired, you’ve been around for a lot less time than I have and I’m sure this work load is a lot.”

                Bin met Dongmin’s eyes again, a great amount of sincerity backing up his words with just the look. “Mr- Dongmin. Thank you.”

                “If you want, you could stay and work here…” He paused as he took another bite. “I still have some file organizing to do, and it would be a change of scenery.”

                Bin could tell there was a lot of hesitation in Dongmin suggesting it, and he guessed it was strange for him to offer. But, Bin thought that it wouldn’t hurt. “I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so far?? i'm highkey in love with this fic????? like it might be my 2018 fav hmhmhm  
> i love u all! i hope ur holidays went great and ur new year is bright and lovely  
> hit me (up) @[chanight](http://chanight.tumblr.com)


	4. Chapter 4

                Launching a new game and having it be something that he worked on was top on Bin’s bucket list, with a little star that marked how if it was for ASTRO games, it would be a major plus. If he could tell his eleven-year-old self that this would actually be accomplished, he was sure he wouldn’t believe it. And yet he was sitting in the second row of the launch presentation, dolled up in his suit and watching the blank screen with a million butterflies in his stomach. It wasn’t like he had done the graphics or coded anything, but just knowing he had helped Dongmin and Jinwoo directly made him important to the project.

                The presentation was just about to begin, and Jinwoo walked on the stage with a confident smile. He looked elegant today, his suit so finely tailored for him and his hair styled up to show his forehead. The crowd (an understatement, it was a giant stadium _filled_ with people ranging from press to fans) quieted down as Jinwoo cleared his throat.

                “Hello, and welcome to ASTRO games’ presentation of their new release, LandGlass.” A loud cheer and applause rang through the room. “My name is Park Jinwoo and I am the director of design. Thank you all for coming to this launch, and here is our CEO, Lee Dongmin.” With mention of the CEO, the crowd roared, and Bin felt his hands go numb from how hard he was clapping.

                Dongmin was a special case when it came to his fame. Not only was he renowned for increasing ASTRO games’ tenfold after coming into the CEO position, but he was famous for being particularly gorgeous while doing it. The number of fangirls as well as fanboys from the games were incredible, and the moment he watched on the stage and took the podium from Jinwoo, Bin could feel his breath be taken away. He looked stunning.

                “Hello everyone. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to learn more about this new game.” The giant screen behind him lit up with the games logo, and the venue’s lights dimmed as Dongmin adjusted his suit jacket. “This project has been dear to my heart since its first introduction, and I can assure you all that we have put our everything into this design, gameplay, and interface.”

                Dongmin continued to run through the basics of the game, the console it would be played on, as well as the launches planned for expansions to mobile and online multiplayer. Then he moved into the actual story as well as clips of gameplay, and Bin could feel himself being sucked into the story just by listening to Dongmin’s speech. Everything on the presentation was detailed to perfection, even the transitions between slides being interesting and eye-catching. There was a reason ASTRO games were the top, he supposed.

                The presentation was wrapped up and Dongmin smiled, bowing towards the crowd and saying thank you, leading to a standing ovation lasting for at least a minute. Bin could see the shy smile Dongmin wore on stage, and Jinwoo came back on, briefly patting his back, and coming to the podium.

                “Thank you all for this support. If you have any questions, feel free to come up to a microphone that has been placed near you and inquire. We will have thirty minutes for questions.”

                Questions seemed to fly by, Dongmin having answers for anything thrown at him. There were so many that Bin felt confused by or unsure how he would answer, but Dongmin lead with an eloquence that left Bin feeling proud. The presentation ended with another round of applause and the venue was emptying, Bin standing outside of the side door with a bouquet of flowers. After another ten or so minutes, Dongmin came out and bumped into him, looking with a started expression.

                “Oh, Bin, hello.”

                “Dongmin! You were so awesome up there!” Bin’s eyes were glittering, and he pushed the bouquet into Dongmin’s arms. “Gosh, I’ve always wanted to go to one of your presentations. It’s so crazy to think that I’m here as an intern.”

                “How did you know I loved flowers?” Dongmin was still a bit startled at how excited Bin was, and Jinwoo walked up with a grin.

                “I just took some photos for a magazine spread, glad they’ve acknowledged the true visual of ASTRO.” He looked at the bouquet then at Bin, then back at Dongmin. “Oh? Flowers? Did you get these Bin? Where’s mine?”

                “You totally controlled that crowd, too, and you had such great posture, have you ever been told that before? You have really great posture, you should teach a class, because I slouch a lot and I never remember to sit up straight…” Bin kept rambling and Dongmin’s cheeks tinted redder and redder as the compliments rolled in, until eventually Jinwoo hit Bin’s back and grinned.

                “Well, anyway, we’re going out to celebrate. Most of the team is already there, so let’s go!”

***

                Alright, maybe he did get a bit carried out of hand back there, and he felt a lot more embarrassed now that his star-struckness had passed by. The entire team of ASTRO games was crowded into this restaurant, their tables filled with food and drink covered by the company’s budget, and nothing but laughter could be heard ringing through the room. Bin sipped his soju and took it in, sat across from Dongmin and in between Jinwoo another coworker from his office. It was already an hour into their drinking and he could tell that Dongmin wasn’t handling it as well as Jinwoo was. Jinwoo seemed to notice too, since he started filling Dongmin’s glass a lot quicker than usual.

                Bin had taken maybe three shots the whole time, but Jinwoo and Dongmin had finished a bottle each already. He put some more meat on Dongmin’s plate and smiled at him, taking a piece for himself and munching happily. His coworkers were all absorbed in conversation, but Bin was content just surveying the room and eating his food. The fact that he wasn’t paying and he could order as much as he wanted was _great_ , not only for the restaurant but for Bin’s stomach as well. This also meant the end of all-nighters, which made him take another bite blissfully.

                However, his focus on the good food was broken when Dongmin slammed his cup on the table, Jinwoo next to him erupting in giggles reminiscent of a schoolgirl. Dongmin said something slurred, and Jinwoo laughed harder. Bin didn’t catch what he said, but it must have been a riot with how Jinwoo was reacting. “…not kidding. I will! Right now!”

                “Do it then.” Jinwoo’s eyes flashed with something mischievous. Dongmin turned to face Bin, which surprised him.

                “Mr. Moon Bin.” He pointed at him with his glass, closing one eye as if to focus on a target. “I’m going to make you my boyfriend before the next launch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick note: in korea its manners to fill the cup of the person ur drinking with. jinjin wasn't trying to make eunwoo drunk exactly, since ppl already refill, he was just refilling faster lol  
> HELLO FRIENDOS! i have a socky fic that's currently under the works that will be p long and p great so!! look forward to that :D i hope u guys enjoyed this chapter <3  
> hit me (up) @[chanight](http://chanight.tumblr.com)


	5. Chapter 5

                His heart was pounding. Harder than he had ever felt his heart beat, and it actually worried him that it wasn’t normal. When he had gotten home, he leaned back on the door with his bag falling out of his hand, and his other one clutching his heart. He had to be quiet as to not wake up his family, but his throat hurt from holding in a scream. What did Dongmin mean? That was just so strange, and besides it didn’t make sense to him. After all, there was no way that he had shown interest in him before this anyway. If he had been interested, wouldn’t he have asked him out before this? Besides, Dongmin was clearly drunk as well, so there was no way he had meant it. Then again, it was true that Jinwoo had been strange around the both of them before, and he encouraged it when he made such a confession…

                Bin sunk to the floor, rubbing his face with his hands and sighing. No matter what had happened today, he had to go into work the next day. Not that it was a problem after all, it didn’t change his opinion on Dongmin. Then again, why was his heart still on _fire_? He shook his head, removing his shoes and heading to his room quietly. He was sure that with some proper rest tomorrow would be back to normal.

                Unfortunately, it came to be the next day and Bin was staring at himself in the mirror of the elevator with dark circles. He couldn’t sleep the past night after all, and Bin whined before the elevator opened, revealing CEO Dongmin standing on the other side, his face buried in his phone. However, once he stepped in and pressed his floor button, he looked over at the man next to him to say hello and jumped. Bin jumped as well, and they just stared at each other for three floors before Dongmin cleared his throat.

                “Hello, Bin.”

                “H-hi, Dongmin.”

                It fell silent again, and when the elevator dinged as they Bin reached his floor, Dongmin opened his mouth but Bin quickly shuffled out. The door closed and he covered his face again. It was burning now, and he made his way to his desk to bury it in his bag. He felt a pat on the back and turned quickly to show Jinwoo.

                “Hi~!” Jinwoo said this in English, a grin resting on his face. “Did you sleep well?” Bin grimaced as a stack of articles was placed on his desk to proofread. “We need these edited to submit to magazines tomorrow. You might have to stay late, is that okay? Since, you know, Dongmin will be-”

                “Great! Wonderful! Why would that be a problem, Mr. Park?”

                “No reason, Bin.”

***

                No reason, he said, while he continued to glance over at him every five minutes. Bin didn’t have to look up to feel his stare driving into his skull. He wasn’t sure why, but he had circled ten times before he pushed his chair back and left the room. Bin needed his morning coffee anyway, and there was no way he would get focused without it. He didn’t have such a strong habit before his job, despite coffee being such a big thing in South Korea (his mother never really liked it), but everyone shared it so often that he got used to it quickly.

                He was careful when he walked down the hall, nervously looking around a few times and probably looking rather paranoid to the coworkers that passed him. If this job was going to continue with avoiding the CEO he had grown so close with, he was in for a rough career. His worries distracted him from realizing he had bumped into the very man he was trying to avoid, and he took steps back the moment he realized. He could tell that Dongmin was nervous too, tiny beads of sweat building on his browbone. This was obviously a sign that it was a mistake and he remembered it, which meant it would clearly not be brought up. Bin mumbled a ‘sorry’ and bowed, passing him until Dongmin grabbed his wrist to stop him. It tingled where they met.

                “Bin…” Dongmin’s voice got smaller by the end of the word. “I…I wanted to talk to you.”

                “My gosh, look at the time, sir. I think it would be unwise if I didn’t get back to work-”

                “The coffee room, please.” He said it sternly enough that Bin couldn’t avoid it, so he bit his lip and turned around to smile and nod. They walked into the room and Dongmin closed it behind them slowly, turning around with his eyebrows furrowed. “Listen, I know what I said last night was a bit strange…”

                “…but you’d like me to forget about it?” Bin interrupted. “No hassle at all.”

                “ _But_ , I don’t take back what I said and I will readily follow through with my plans as well.” It was silent now, only the sound of dripping coffee in the background. Bin could feel his heart doing that unbearable beating again, and his eyesight was spinning. “How do you feel about me, Moon Bin?”

                How did he _feel_? This was all so sudden, that was for sure, considering one second ago he had just been an intern and now his boss was asking to date him. There was no doubt in his brain that Dongmin was gorgeous, and he looked up to him with every fiber of his being, however he had never even considered him in a romantic light. Maybe it was his own inferiority complex that got ahead of him, but the idea of dating someone as incredible as Dongmin was far beyond him. So he just stared instead, knowing that he looked like a crazy person who blew a fuse.

                “I see it’s a bit early to ask something like that, let me apologize.” Dongmin took a few steps closer to Bin, until Bin started moving backwards and he hit the counter. It hurt, but he didn’t notice because Dongmin was inches from his face. His eyes flickered across his features and he smiled, moving his gaze off his face for a second before looking back. “I do suggest you don’t ignore this, though, because I don’t plan on being subtle.”

                Of course he didn’t, he was far too ambitious for that and Bin knew it. “I understand,” came out lower than a whisper.

                “I like you, Moon Bin. Enough for my brain to be muddled with the thought of you and enough for me to space out during meetings because you’re the only thing I can focus on. As someone who sticks to his work, this feeling is…new. But not unwelcome, and I want to embrace it.” Dongmin took a step back and shoved his hands into his pockets. Bin could breathe now. “I want you to be a full-time employee. I want you to be my assistant, if you’re willing and comfortable with taking that position. I’m offering you a 533 million won salary, if you do accept.”

                Was this man serious? As if he would pass by an offer like that. His brain spoke for him, a curt “I’ll take it” being processed by the _other_ half of his brain that screamed, ‘this was a terrible idea, and now you’re stuck with your boss who’s pursuing you for all hours of the day’. There was a tiny part of him, though, that said it wasn’t quite a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lowkey more of a bridge/filler chap HDGJHKDS but are u excited bc wow i am. also that's abt a 500k salary in usd so GET THAT PROMO BIN  
> hit me (up) @[chanight](chanight)


	6. Chapter 6

                When Bin made his way into work for the next few weeks, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Being the CEO’s assistant would surely mean a lot of elbow work – lots of calls to make and emails to send. However, he found himself being more like a cheerleader (or a puppy, quite honestly) than an employee. Dongmin would just sit him next to his own chair at his desk and glance at him when he started to get stressed. Bin was starting to feel more like some sort of doll. He assumed that since he wasn’t properly trained as an employee or assistant, Dongmin was just keeping him there for now and would train him later. However, later never seemed to come.

                It was possibly since ASTRO games were so busy developing other games as well as updates and DLCs for older ones. Despite just launching a new game, they were rather quick in developing more to release later. It was easier for them to work hard at the same pace than wear themselves out with launches every few months. Bin was already excited by the preliminary sketches Dongmin had showed him and he knew that this one was going to be as much of a hit as their last game. Meetings lately had showed that they were up in sales by over fifty percent in comparison to their last game.

                Bin was admiring Dongmin more every day, and watching him so closely as he worked hard was just increasing it even more. He always sat with his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, a coffee on the left side of him, and a plate of seaweed on the right. Then he would log in and put on music and type away from six in the morning (earlier actually, but that was when Bin’s call time was) until ten in the evening. He was just as hard working as Bin had expected, and it made sense to him why ASTRO games had become so popular.

                A certain Thursday came by and Bin came into work with Dongmin’s iced americano and two sugars in one hand and his bagel in the other, setting it on his keyboard and smiling as Dongmin looked up with a startled expression.

                “Oh, hi Bin.” He opened the bag and let out a sigh. “How did you know I wanted this? You know me better than my own mother.” Bin sat down and took a sip of his own coffee. Just as they were getting comfortable and about to talk, Dongmin got a phone call from Jinwoo, marked ‘urgent’. Bin took another sip of his coffee as Dongmin answered. “Hello?”

                There was a pause as Dongmin dropped the bagel from his hand, standing up quickly and grabbing his coat before rushing out of the room. Bin blinked a few times before cleaning up the mess Dongmin had made and checking his phone as it beeped with a message from Jinwoo. An article titled “New video game ‘Night Waves’ coming from FourTeen Games proving to be promising” along with the preliminary sketches that looked oh-so-familiar filled the screen.

***

                An emergency meeting was called by the time everyone had gotten to work, and Dongmin’s expression had soured in between the time he had arrived this morning and now. It was a solemn space as all of the people stayed silent while Dongmin wrung his hands out and glared into everyone’s eyes one by one.

                “So, we’ve been called here today for somewhat of an emergency.” Bin felt uncomfortable as Dongmin crossed his arms. “Our latest game has been hacked, and FourTeen Games have not only taken all of the coding, but also all of the artwork and promotion photos.”

                A low rumble of angry comments rang through the meeting room, until Dongmin slammed his hand on the table and everyone quieted down. Jinwoo quickly spoke up, “We aren’t sure how it got leaked considering we have such high security measures, but we can assure you that someone wasn’t keeping the passwords updated as frequently as possible. Considering there’s only three people that work on the passwords…it won’t be very difficult to find out who it was.” Jinwoo sighed. “Unfortunately, we will _all_ have to make up the work as well as try and recover as much of what they have stolen as we can. We’re all lucky that we keep time records of our work or else we would be in deep trouble.”

                Bin never thought that something so scary would happen to the company, and he knew that it was pretty serious when Dongmin walked out of the meeting after saying that. Bin quickly grabbed his bag and ran after him, silently entering the elevator with him and following him to his desk like a duckling. Dongmin sat down and buried his face in his hands, clearly crying but so silently that Bin could barely tell.

                “Are you okay, Dongmin?” His voice was soft because he knew he wasn’t okay, but he wasn’t sure how else to ask. “I’m sorry the game got leaked. We can take it back though, and even file a lawsuit-”

                “Please, Bin, don’t talk for a moment.” He fell silent at the request, staring at Dongmin as he let out silent sobs on his desk. A hand moved subconsciously to his back, gently patting him comfortingly. Bin knew that if it was difficult for him just though school to get to here, and he couldn’t imagine the pressure Dongmin was under now.

                “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He rubbed in small circles and Dongmin moved to Bin’s shoulder. “We can do this just fine, it’ll take some time but you work hard. You’re doing well.”

                Dongmin moved back from his shoulder and wiped his eyes quickly, clearing his throat. “Thank you. I know it’s a lot to ask for now, but if you could stay by my side just through this, I’d appreciate it.”

                Bin’s smile widened and he nodded. “Don’t worry CEO Dongmin, I’m here for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONFLICT? DRAMA? of course  
> school is back TT i wonder how this semester will go. are any of u guys in school right now? if so, how's it going?  
> hit me (up) @[chanight](http://chanight.tumblr.com)


	7. Chapter 7

                To say that ASTRO games was busy was a severe understatement. The widespread panic across the company had caught up with all the sections and other locations, and everyone was hard at work with legal teams as well as their programmers to find concrete evidence of FourTeen Games being the ones who had stolen from them. If they could open a case against them, it would not only ruin FourTeen games but also allow ASTRO games to regain their files back.

                The person who was on duty to watch for hackers had been fired – Dongmin had met with him personally and watched him pack his things before telling security to escort him out. Bin felt goosebumps with the glare that he had given that man, and it seemed like he had no remorse. Bin had known now that it was a lot harder for Dongmin than h had let out. He did understand that he was young and trying his best, and for him to watch his hard work fall out of his hands was clearly hard on him. Bin wish he had let him do more, but Dongmin just kept him set next to him and would look over at him every few minutes and let out a deep sigh. Bin found himself patting Dongmin on the back a lot that day.

                Dongmin had left for the morning and afternoon to travel to the other Seoul location for some meetings with chairmen, and Bin found himself without meaning for most of the day. He wandered between rooms, shadowing behind Jinwoo a few times and looking a lot like a lost puppy. After an hour he settled on staying in a coffee room and sipping slowly, wondering if Dongmin was getting along well or if he was too stressed out. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but Bin found himself a lot more interested in Dongmin after he had poured his heart out. It was a strange situation for Bin, especially knowing that Dongmin was indeed interested in him. Bin couldn’t help but smile into his cup at the memory of the CEO’s confession.

                Just as he was about to put his cup into the sink, a few employees walked in and began pouring their own cups. “Like I was saying, it would be pretty easy to get the files back.”

                “Right? FourTeen is known for not having good security.” The second employee took a sip and then added more sugar. “You know, I think they just aren’t trying to prioritize that, but it would give them a lot of leverage.”

                Bin set the cup down in the sink and ran back to the elevator, wondering if he was crazy for the idea he had running through his brain. Before he could doubt himself, he went into Dongmin’s office and logged onto his computer. If he could remember correctly from his game design and programming degree, he knew that making his way into their system wouldn’t be too difficult. Despite not being proud that he had done a few hacking jobs on the side early on, he found himself glad that he had gone through this a few times before.

                A few searches to how to access FourTeen’s main system and he found himself in, and a few minutes later he was searching their database and finding their files saved and organized in such a way that it made it a bit easier to find the files for ASTRO’s game. His hands moved quickly in trying to take as many screenshots as well as copying the file onto his own desktop and deleting it off of FourTeen’s. He searched and found all of the backups and deleted those as well, and quickly exited their system and let out a yell. If he rushed, he could meet Dongmin at the other office and show him what he had managed to do. He grabbed his bag and ran out as quickly as he could.

***

                The ride to the other office took around ten minutes, but every minute passed so slowly that his running up the building to the meeting room was ten times as fast. Not knowing how to navigate this building proved a bit difficult, but he found himself finally at the meeting door and bursting in, panting as sweat shined on his face. The chairmen and Dongmin whipped their head at the door and Dongmin’s eyes widened. Bin took a deep breath and came to the front of the room, standing next to Dongmin.

                “Er, hello. I’m Moon Bin.” He bowed. “I…I managed to delete our game files from FourTeen’s servers.” A collective gasp came from the room, and Dongmin looked like his soul left his body. “Um, I’m sorry if that was out of line for me…I’ve just done things similar when I was a lot younger and I wanted to help! They don’t have any saved versions of it either, I checked and managed to delete all of it. I also got a lot of photos of it for the legal team.”

                Before Dongmin could comment, a chairman began clapping and the others followed suit quickly. Bin flushed red and looked at Dongmin with a shy look and got even more shy when Dongmin’s jaw was still ajar.

***

                The car ride back to the building was a long one with the traffic that had suddenly appeared. It was silent, and Bin was sitting next to Dongmin while his driver was taking them back. Bin glanced over at Dongmin and they made eye contact. Bin blinked as a hand reached out and rested on his head, Dongmin smiling at him. “You did well, Bin.”

                “Did I help a lot?” He couldn’t help but grin back at him and subconsciously lean into Dongmin’s hand.

                “Of course you did. You know, they were all really surprised that you managed that. I was really proud of you.” Before they knew it, they had pulled up to the building and they fell silent again. Dongmin slid his hand off of his head and coughed as the driver parked in front and waited for them to leave the car. In a spur of the moment, Bin leaned in and kissed Dongmin’s cheek before slipping out of the car and covering his lips after his impulsive decision. Maybe he could allow himself to admit that he was falling for Dongmin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> I MISS ASTRO  
> the fanmeet was incredible, and i'm dying because i miss them so much ;-;  
> hit me (up) @[chanight](http://chanight.tumblr.com)


	8. Chapter 8

              “You’re lucky that you weren’t caught while in their system. This only delayed them a bit, but we can bring it up with trial tomorrow.”

              “Am I going to the trial?” Bin rested his head in his hands, watching as Dongmin typed away on his computer.

              “No, it’ll just be me and Jinwoo most likely. Our legal team, too, of course.” Dongmin finished writing his email and turned his attention to Bin with a smile. “Then we’ll come back and celebrate our win.”

              “Celebrate? How?” A pat on the head made Bin flush, and without an answer Dongmin went back to doing his work.

              There was a lot to prepare before Dongmin had to go and address FourTeen Games, which included organizing when and where they would meet and who from their legal team he would take. They had already opened a case and drafted what they wanted to say, deciding that if FourTeen would just retract their statements and publicly apologize, they wouldn’t sue. Bin wished he would sue, he wanted to watch FourTeen games totally crumble after taking ASTRO’s hard work so easily. However, Dongmin was a strong professional man who refused to make ASTRO games look like a predator.

              Watching him leave the office and come back in over ten times (he always forgot something, it was often his keys or his jacket) was making Bin more anxious as the minutes passed. Finally, Dongmin had shut down his computer and put on his jacket, lingering in the doorway for a moment before holding eye contact with Bin and shyly coughing.

              “Um, I’m gonna go now.” He hesitated and gripped his phone tighter. “Iloveyou, I’ll see you when I get back.” And with that, he very quickly turned on his heel and rushed out of the room. Dongmin was lucky he had rushed out so quickly, because Bin felt like he was going to explode from the blush on his cheeks.

***

              The wait for Dongmin and Jinwoo to come back was agonizing, and Bin spent it spinning in Dongmin’s chair or making trips back and forth from his office to the coffee room on the floor below him. After a few too many, he decided to turn on the TV for some distraction – only to find that the press conference that would follow their meeting with FourTeen Games was being televised. He supposed it made sense considering how big ASTRO was. To see Dongmin standing on a podium with Jinwoo and the lead of their legal team behind him was unsettling, and the furrowing of Dongmin’s eyebrows didn’t look promising. The flash was hitting his skin and causing a blinding reflection, but he barely even blinked at it. Bin admired how professional he was.

              “Mr. Lee, how has ASTRO games decided to take action against FourTeen games?”

              “We’ve decided that with the public apology there is no need to further this case.” The news reporters began shouting their questions afterwards, to which Dongmin cleared his throat. “We feel as if the idea of plagiarism and theft is already so looked down upon that it’s pointless for us to be involved. FourTeen Games will have trouble gaining their reputation back after this incident and with that we will let them continue as they were, while understanding that something like this will not happen again. Since that was agreed, we at ASTRO will now work on our own projects without feeling the need to interfere with others.”

              Before any other reporters could ask questions, Dongmin bowed at the cameras and stepped down from the podium, exiting from the side and being followed, the camera angle changing to watch him walk out while the current news caster continued to talk about what had just happened. Moments after he had exited the building, Bin’s phone lit up.

              He scrambled for a second before picking up, “Dongmin?”

              “I’m _exhausted_. Let’s meet outside of the office tonight, I don’t want to go back there for at least a day.”

              Of course he didn’t have to tell Bin that twice – he was pretty tired of looking at this office too. It was nice to have some time to himself at home before having to meet him. He readily followed the directions that Dongmin gave him to a park nearby and found him already resting on a swing with a bag of two beers and a bag of chips to share between them. Bin took a seat on the swing next to him and Dongmin opened the beers for them, taking a sip and smiling.

              “I saw you on TV! You looked really cool, the more I see you the more I believe you were born to be a CEO or something.” Dongmin hummed softly and smiled. There was a comfortable silence that they shared for a bit, the streetlights that surrounded them casting warm shadows between them. “Um, Dongmin…”

              “Hm?”

              “If the situation with FourTeen games is fixed, does that mean this launch is sped up? Since the concept art is out and all of that.”

              Dongmin took another sip and looked up at the twinkling stars that rested above them. “I suppose so. I don’t think it should be too difficult since we were ahead before all of this. Why do you ask?”

              Bin felt a blush creep up his cheeks and he focused his gaze to his beer before deciding to say something bold. “Well, what you said to me before…your promise before the next launch…about uh…” He cleared his throat and sat up straighter, slowly moving his eyes to stare Dongmin down directly. “making me your boyfriend!” The last word came out unexpectedly as a squeak, but Bin went along with it. Dongmin’s eyes widened. “You don’t have much time before the launch then! But…I expect that you’ll keep your promise, Mr. Lee, because I know you as a man of your word!”

              Dongmin took a big gulp from his beer and nodded quickly, standing up and adjusting his jacket as though it had been bothering forever, before waving his arm around and nodding again. “Of course! Of course I’m a man of my word! A promise is a promise!” Bin couldn’t help but giggle at the franticness of Dongmin’s movements, but he took his word either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quite honestly, i can't believe i updated this either.  
> i've decided to try and finish some stories before the new year, in an attempt to start fresh^^  
> if u remember this, ur a real mvp!  
> hit me up @[irregseo](http://twitter.com/irregseo)


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